Gundams and Paradise
by Gundam Enyo
Summary: The gundam pilots are on a Preventer mission that sends them to a tropical island mansion. For Duo, things don't go as planned and something about the warm Caribbean sun relaxes some inhibitions. HeeroxDuo. Warning: Swearing with a likely future rating of M.
1. Chapter 1

First published story!

What are all those disclaimers again...I don't own shit from the Gundam Universe. Let's leave it at that.

P.S. This story is Rated T for excessive swearing. The rating will likely change from chapter-to-chapter, with an M rating in the foreseeable future.

 **Chapter 1: 'Ouch'**

It wasn't suppose to be a business trip, nevertheless a pool party, but when Duo arrived at the island house with sixteen acres of palm trees, exotic gardens, and a white stucko mansion with three stories and an infinity pool that stretched from the mansion's back deck to the sandy golden coast of the sea, Duo couldn't hold himself back.

"We're not here to go swimming. We're on a mission," Heero huffed as he watched Duo riffle through his luggage in the room they were sharing to find his swim trunks. There were plenty of bedrooms in the mansion, but Heero and the others thought it was best to pair up for safety. Wufei, of course, refused. Quatre and Trowa were seemingly fine with it since they'd been partners on multiple missions and had a long history of shacking up together. Duo assumed there was something else going on, but never knew quite how to ask. Sometimes the elephant in the room just needed to acknowledge itself. However, when Heero reaffirmed he'd be sharing a room with Duo, Duo felt conflicted.

Something about having to share a room, despite at least having two separate beds, made something of a knot form in his stomach. When Heero had first mentioned it, Duo felt like his throat tightened - squeezing his vocal cords to keep himself silent. Surely, spending the night in two separate rooms separated by two flimsy wooden doors and the width of a hallway as they had done multiple times in the past was no better protection should Heero try to kill him in his sleep, but at least the terrifying sound of wooden doors being split by an axe was noticeable. By sharing a room, Heero could stealthily climb on top of him and lock his hands around Duo's throat before he even woke.

It was something he'd figure out later, though, since the pristine, undisturbed surface of the pool in the backyard was his top priority since the sun was still up. The reality was Heero could strangle him at any time of day and in any living arrangement if he wanted to. If Duo was going to die tonight, he was at least going to go for a fucking swim first.

"Ah! Here they are!" Duo called happily as he pulled his swim trunks out of his bag. They were light blue - one of the few things we owned that wasn't black.

"Did you even hear me?" Heero groaned again, now sitting on Duo's bed to make eye contact.

"You mean that thing about this being a mission? Yup, didn't hear that," Duo said jokingly. Heero glared at him, but Duo had long since gotten used to it.

"You're obvious coercing doesn't work on me anymore, remember? You should just join me. The clients won't be coming in until late tomorrow anyways."

"We have a lot of things to set up before then."

"Oh please, don't be such a stick in the mud. I bet you Quatre and Trowa are going to go swimming too."

Before Heero could say anything else, Duo quickly scooted into the bathroom and locked the door. He could hear Heero groaning about something outside, but at this point, fuck him. Duo stepped out of his black clothes which had trapped in the baking tropical heat - feeling relieved to be free of the restricting garments. He wrestled into his swim trunks and secured them around his waist before looking at himself in the mirror. Unlike the other pilots, he hadn't grown much in the way of physical strength. Wufei, Heero, and Trowa had all easily bulked up (particularly in the arms), but no matter how much Duo tried he only got more lean. Quatre had the same problem, but Duo doubted how much he was really training himself nowadays. Judging by his paling complexion, Quatre had seen more of a computer screen than the outdoors.

Duo unlatched the door and stepped out, finding that Heero had closed the bedroom door and was leaning against it - blocking it. They made eye contact and Duo could tell he'd have to weasel himself out somehow.

"Are you fuckin' serious?" Duo called, folding his arms across his chest as Heero had done.

"I need your help setting things up. No swimming until we're done," Heero responded flatly.

"We're never done when you're around. If you lead this mission none of us will even see the outdoors!"

"I _am_ leading this mission."

"Yeah, well, fuck you," Duo called back, turning his head angrily to look out the window. It was noon and the sun had just come out from behind the morning sea fog. It was beautiful with an anticipated temperature of 85 degrees that day.

"I don't know about you, but I don't get to see much sun on the colonies. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Duo muttered. The only hope now was appealing to that small sliver of Heero's humanity.

"They'll be other time _after_ the mission, " Heero emphasized. _Well that didn't work_ , Duo thought angrily. Heero wasn't going to move from the door. Logically, going out the door and down the stairs like a normal person wasn't an option.

"Oh please, by the time our mission is done we'll all be dead. There's no sandy beaches in hell," Duo said, exasperated. The only way out was the window, which made Duo nervous. The last time he'd escaped from a window he'd fallen off a trestle and twisted his knee - requiring surgery. Nevertheless, it was his only option. Duo stepped over to the window and threw open the latch. Their shared bedroom was on the backside of the mansion overhanging the West end of the giant pool. A small roof scaffolding sloped down to the watrl, but a long expanse of wooden deck still separated the roof from the edge of the pool. Duo considered the distance. He could totally jump it.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked. He finally unfolded his arms and stepped away from the door, but Duo's new plan was already in motion. Duo kicked out the window screen - sending it sliding across the wooden shingles with a clatter before dropping off the edge.

"Jailbreak," Duo answered simply. He gave Heero a sly wink and the middle finger as he hopped up into the sill and rolled out onto the roof. The sun was warm on his bare skin as he stretched out his arms - taking it in. The salty sea breeze wafted past him - coursing through his bangs - as he looked out over the green foliage of the tropical island from his high perch. This was by far the most beautiful mission he'd been on. Had he had another life - perhaps born into a family of wealth - this was exactly what he'd have strived to have for himself. Probably a girlfriend, too.

"Don't be a fucking dumbass!" Heero called from behind him - ruining the moment. Duo turned to see Heero crawling up through the window. He had to jump now.

"Ha! Never heard you actually cuss before!" Duo called over his shoulder as he started running down the roof. The deep end of the pool was on the East side which worked well. Duo could get enough momentum running down the roof to make the jump. Duo reached the last portion and timed his steps to the edge. With a leap, he launched himself off the roof.

Tumbling through the air, Duo did a single backflip before realizing he was going to get dangerously close to the railing of the wooden deck.

"Oh shit!," he cursed quietly as he tucked his legs and arms in. The water sped up to him, as did the deck. With a loud crack, Duo felt his right forearm smash against the wooden railing; spinning him to plop into the water with a flailing splash.

 _Ahhh son of a bitch_ , Duo screamed internally. The water smoothed up along his body, cooling him down from the hot sun, but his forearm throbbed with shooting pain. He tucked it into his chest to brace it against the current of the water swirling around him, but the pain refused to subside. He'd felt the same sensation before on multiple occasions and nearly in the exact same spot. It was broken.

But the hell he was going to let Heero know. He'd never hear the end of it.

Duo decided to stay under the water to hide his grimace until the initial, radiating pain subsided. It still hurt a hell of a lot, but he could easily act his way through it now. When Duo emerged to the surface and wiped the water from his eyes, Heero was already standing above him on the deck.

"You hit your arm," he accused immediately. His glare was piercing now - more than just the general disagreeing stare he always had. Deciding to jump off the roof was one of the few times Duo had flat out opposed with him without some kind of compromise.

"How did you get down here so quickly?" Duo asked, genuinely curious. Heero didn't answer.

"Did you break it?"

"I mean, the stairs are on the other side of the house," Duo deflected.

"Did you break it?" Heero repeated again.

"Only an x-ray could confirm that diagnosis," Duo finally answered smugly. It was times like this he wished he could just lie.

"I watched you smash it against the railing."

"Yeah, well, it spun off," Duo responded innocently. He had done a backflip, so he probably was still spinning to some degree when he hit.

Heero was silent for a moment, surely thinking of a question he could ask that Duo couldn't easily bypass. After a couple seconds, his expression changed to a slight smirk. Was he enjoying this?

"Does it hurt as if you broke it?" Heero asked, eyeing Duo for a reaction. _Shit_ , Duo thought. _How the hell am I supposed to answer that one?_

Both of them were suddenly distracted by large, colorful pool toys being squeezed out the back door of the mansion.

"Hey!" Quatre called happily as he preceded the inflatables out the door. "I'm surprised you guys beat us down." 'Us' must have included Trowa who was hidden behind a large assortment of blow up animals and rainbow fun noodles hovering next to Quatre as they approached.

"Hey, nice timing," Duo called back gratefully. Heero's subtle anger was still a suffocating force even when his attention shifted. Duo decided to just stay still - like a rabbit anticipating danger.

"What are you guys doing?" Heero asked, obviously trying to hide the irritation in his voice. Duo had jumped off the roof and now Trowa was collapsing into the pool aboard a life raft of zoo animals. Quatre found the pool stairs and followed in after him.

"Well, we knew you'd be mad if we told you we were going to the pool, so we decided to hurry down without letting you know," Quatre said frankly, yet somehow innocently. Heero didn't respond. Why was Quarte the only one that could talk to Heero like that and not get his ass kicked?

"See," Duo said quietly. Heero's lips tightened - which was the same as a huff.

Trowa, having plunged into the pool and mounted one of the floating lounge rafts, had also somehow acquired a mixed drink with a mini umbrella. "Trowa, did you get into the pool with that?" Duo asked, trying to change the subject. Three out of five were in the pool now. That counted as majority power.

"Yes," Trowa responded simply as he floated away. _Leave it to the circus guy to flop into water without spilling a single drop_ , Duo thought.

"Maybe you should try backflipping into the pool from the roof with one next," Heero interjected. Trowa looked up at the roof, seemingly judging the distance. "No, it's too far. I'd probably hit the deck."

"You're right. Only an idiot would do that," Heero answered.

Duo felt his face flush from both embarrassment and anger.

"If you're not going to swim you might as well go do some work," Duo challenged. The hell if his day was going to be further ruined by Heero being a fucking jerk.

"No, I'll join," Heero answered simply. "I don't like working with Wufei." Duo looked around. Sure enough, Duo hadn't seen the last pilot since they'd departed the helicopter - where Wufei had been going on about establishing satellite communication to intercept something-or-other. Duo had been looking out at the water the majority of the flight and had probably missed some important mission details. Like anyone counted on him anyways, though.

Heero departed to get into his swim trunks and Duo pushed himself along the wall of the deep end until he reached a depth he could stand. The cool water felt good on his arm, but it still throbbed - particularly when he tried to flex his fingers. He made a grab at the steel pool rail to climb out and go make himself a drink to help ease the pain, but grasping it made the throbbing too intense and he had to let go. Apart from the stabbing pain, it felt like his bones were unstable and threatening to retch themselves out of place at any second. For now, it only seemed like a simple fracture, but with use he could easily injure it further. He'd just have to make it until nightfall without anyone - particularly Heero - realizing he couldn't use it.

Duo wadded his way around the pool and found a stairwell to walk out. "Quat', I'm gonna make some drinks if you want one?" Duo called, immediately realizing the flaw in his offer. How exactly was he suppose to grab two glasses?

"No, I'm good. Thanks though," Quatre answered. Duo sighed in relief.

"I'll take one," Heero said suddenly from beside him. Startled, Duo wiped around.

"Seriously, how the hell are you getting down here so fast?" he asked, eyeing that Heero was already fully changed into his green swim trunks after having only been gone for what seemed like two minutes - max. The stairs were in the front of the house and their bedroom was on the third floor, for christ's sake.

"You going to get me one?" he redirected. Duo was getting tired of being ignored.

"No. Make one yourself. I was only offering for Quatre," Duo answered cheekily.

Heero stared at him a moment. Although Duo tried to resist, he let himself gulp nervously. Without a word, Heero turned and headed back into the house to beat Duo to the kitchen.

 _Fuck._ Now he was going to have to be one-on-one in the house with the asshole.

"Hey Duo, when you guys get back we'll play volleyball, okay? They have a net that we'll set up," Quatre called.

 _Wait, volleyball? Oh no_ , Duo thought. Taking hits off a broken arm would be excruciating, but he notoriously loved playing at the gym back at the Preventer base. Even Heero had started to play after months of coercing and together they had battled Quatre and Trowa in the annual Summer picnic tournament every July. Last year, he and Heero had won.

Duo waved nonchalantly with his good arm to avoid answering directly while he thought of an excuse. But wait, did he really want an excuse? He loved playing and now he was in a tropical paradise with his first opportunity to play volleyball in a giant rich-person pool. Duo made his way to the back door of the mansion, considering his options. Apart from telling the truth about his arm or simply disappearing to go for a walk around the island, Duo was settling on the option of just getting shit-faced so that he could play volleyball in a numb haze and deal with the physical repercussions afterwards when he sobered up. Spitefully, Duo decided it was a logical-enough plan.

Duo walked into the kitchen and eyed Heero who had already scrounged around for his favorite liquor which was, surprisingly, tequila. Duo always wondered if the choice was due to the first time Duo had gotten Heero drunk at a back alley mexican restaurant with a bartender who was overly gracious - and possibly chronically drunk judging by his flushed face during every future visit - when pouring margaritas. Despite the nostalgia, at the moment, Duo just wanted to be mad.

Why the hell did Heero have to block the goddamn door? If he hadn't his arm wouldn't be broken and he could play fucking pool volleyball. Duo took the bottle of tequila, poured a shot, and took it. Heero watched him quietly until Duo went for his third shot.

"You want something to mix with that?" Heero asked. The question was probably more suggestively than snarkily, in hindsight, but unfortunately Duo was still listening to him through a filter of pure anger that made Heero's comment sound aggressive.

Duo bit his lip. He poured and shot the third drink - without a goddamn chaser.

"Taking shots isn't going to hide the pain," Heero said simply.

"Shut up or I'll deck you," Duo threatened. That comment hit a nerve.

"You're left arm isn't very strong. I doubt you'll use your right," Heero challenged.

"I fucking hate you."

"I'm not the one that jumped off the roof."

"No, you just blocked the door like your overcontrolling self as usual. They want to challenge us to volleyball, by the way."

"Can you play?" Heero asked sternly. Duo was listening for any signs of guilt, but if they were there, he didn't recognize them.

"We're on a tropical island mooching off some rich drug lords booze. I am not missing this fucking chance." The hell if he was going to let Heero win this argument.

"How much does it hurt?" Heero said louder this time. Duo looked away, debating whether he should just leave. They weren't listening to each other.

Heero grabbed the bottle of tequilla next to him, tightened the cap, and suddenly tossed it underhand at Duo. "Catch," Heero muttered. Caught off guard, Duo spun around and instinctively reached for the bottle with his bad arm - making a grasp around the neck. Stabbing pain shot up his arm, making him gasp as he dropped the glass bottle and watched it shatter on the floor at his bare feet.

Duo looked down and examined his legs. Trickles of blood were flowing down his ankles and seeping between his toes. Small glass shards had stuck into his feet and ankles, but the larger pieces had spread out like land mines in a large circle around him. Duo looked up at Heero, glaring.

"That bottle was suppose to help fix the pain, not cause more," Duo seethed. He hated making himself out as a druggie, especially since the others were onto him about his excessive drug use that he'd been trying to work on in secret, but the comment seemed right at the time.

"You're turning to drugs?" Heero asked angrily. Duo could tell Heero felt remorseful about the bottle this time, but Duo wasn't backing down now.

"No! That's not what I fucking meant!" Duo yelled back. "Would you just find a broom and sweep the glass away so I can leave!"

Heero didn't respond, but instead stared at Duo until he eventually diverted his eyes again. He felt trapped, like an animal in a zoo that was being watched through glass. Things started spiraling then. Not anger, that had been exhausted through fighting with Heero, but rather sadness. The truth was, no matter how much he wanted to have his vacation get away, things like this would always happen. Work, stuck-up bestfriends, pools that are too far away from roofs. Nothing ever worked out for him. Why, oh why, had he let himself get excited about this trip?

Duo's hand stroked through his bangs as his eyes had become focused on the shot glass in front of him. A thin film of tequila had dropped and pooled again in the bottom. Duo stayed quiet, just as Heero had, as they both stood silently in the kitchen. Neither moved. Duo was beginning to wonder if Heero had even heard him regarding the broom before Heero finally answered.

"Can you get up onto the counter from there? You can swing yourself over and away from the glass that way," Heero suggested. He signaled to the glass loitering around Duo's feet. Duo lifted his head slightly, keeping his eyes downcast for the most part.

"No. My arm is broken," he finally admitted. _There goes my perfect vacation day_ , Duo thought flatly. They both stood silently again. Duo didn't want to look at his friend anymore. He was sad, but mostly embarrassed. If he could run, he would have.

"Hold on," Heero said, turning and leaving without any other comment explaining 'what for' or 'where to'. Duo continued to stand still, afraid to take a step. He felt utterly defeated now. Heero always had a way of knowing how to break him - like a stead being tamed by a rider. Usually, Heero hardly ever had to do anything. Duo would bury himself in his own hole with just a little bit of a nudge.

When Heero returned, Duo was expecting to see a broom or vacuum, but instead Heero had a pair of shoes on. "I'm going to carry you out of the kitchen, okay? Climb onto my back, " Heero instructed.

 _Seriously, how hard is it to find a broom_ , Duo thought bitterly. He considered pointing out Heero's obvious lack of understanding of where broom closets are typically found, but decided against it. He just didn't want to argue anymore. Duo reluctantly nodded.

Heero turned, squatted down, and Duo climbed up on his back. Heero repositioned his hands to anchor under Duo's thighs, giving him a bounce up that Duo wasn't expecting. The sudden repositioning caused his broken arm to bump against Heero's shoulder - making him gasp again.

"Relax your arm down and let it dangle so it won't hit anything" Heero instructed. Duo noted his obvious lack of apology to be debated at another time. Heero turned and walked slowly out of the glass circle - passing the back door where Duo spotted Quatre and Trowa working on setting up the net. With cuts on his feet now, he couldn't even get into the water nevertheless play. This vacation - or mission, rather - was getting worse and worse.

Heero kept walking, out of the kitchen and down the front hallway to the main door.

"Hey, you can let me down now. You're just carrying me out of the kitchen, remember?" Duo reminded him. When Heero kept walking without a word, Duo became suspicious.

"Hey, you can let me down now," Duo stated again. Heero's arms were still securely around Duo's legs - locking them in place at his sides.

When Heero started walking up the stairs, Duo started getting nervous.

"Hey, what the hell?" Duo complained. "For fuck's sake, my legs aren't broken."

"I realized we should go to the bathroom upstairs to wash the glass out of your feet. We won't track blood along the carpet this way so the target's won't be alerted to us being in the house," Heero finally responded. Duo thought it was oddly delayed, especially for something that made logical sense. Usually it only takes him that long to respond when he's thinking up a good partial truth.

"You could have said that earlier," Duo pointed out.

"Did I scare you?"

"No! You were just weirding me out," Duo answered defensively and louder than was probably warranted. The comment took him off guard, but he found his own reaction was more surprising. Sure, Heero was carrying him at a snail's pace, but they'd been in much more awkward situations before. The worst was probably that time when they'd both lost their clothes and….

"Sorry for worrying you," Heero said after some delay. Duo - drawn back to the present - was taken back by the apology, as it was the only one he could ever recall. He felt like pointing it out, but decided against it. Saying that Heero was suddenly acting out-of-character was true, but there'd been minor changes Duo had been monitoring over the last few months. The most notable was that Heero was actually sleeping well at night.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Heero took a right to head down the long hall to their bedroom at the far end. Duo was certain Heero was walking purposefully slow now, which he attributed to making sure Duo's arm didn't swing, but the pace was a little unnecessary. Duo was beginning to find himself oddly comfortable, though. Something about being so close to Heero and making physical contact was putting his mind to rest. Heero's body heat, being mostly skin to skin apart from their bathing suits, was also intoxicating. Duo tried to take his mind off it, but he found himself wanting to nestle his chin into the crook of Heero's neck. He was so warm. By the time they'd finally reached their bedroom door and Heero had to let go of one of Duo's legs to turn the knob, Duo felt his eyes drooping.

They crossed the room and entered the bathroom. Heero helped Duo slide off his back. Duo felt reluctant, but hid his expression when Heero turned back around to face him. He should not have been having that reaction in the first place.

"You look better," Heero said simply.

"Huh?" Duo said, honestly confused. He probably looked less wild, if that's what Heero meant. Had he been on Heero's back for five more minutes he might have actually fallen asleep. Exhaustion from the pain was surely taking it out of him.

"You always look better after being touched," Heero responded nonchalantly. Duo felt his face flush as he stared back in horror. _Why they hell would he notice that_ , Duo thought nervously.

"What? No!" Duo contested. He was caught off-guard by Heero's observation. "I mean, sure I'm touchy-feely sometimes, but it's just as a bro thing," Duo defended. Hold on, was Heero onto something, though?

"You touch me more when you're not feeling well. This time I figured I'd reach out to you first." Duo gulped.

"W-wait, is that why you were walking so slowly when you were carrying me?" he stuttered.

"Yes."

"Oh." Duo wasn't sure what else to say to that. Truth was, he did feel better, although now significantly more embarrassed.

"How...long have you noticed this?" Duo questioned nervously. Or, in other words, how long had Heero been letting him touch him for knowing it was more than just a bro thing?

"A long time," Heero admitted. Duo remembered a particular mission just after the war where he and Heero had been sent to infiltrate a base housing radical insurgents that were trying to mount a regional takeover. They had been running the base together, but at some point a lock-seal door had separated them and Duo was forced to try navigating the unfamiliar hallways alone in search for their rendezvous point. Since Heero had the hall map layout, Duo wasn't able to avoid the areas of highest activity and thus ran into a behemoth that quite simply beat him into the ground. Heero found him and took out the soldier, but Duo was already injured enough that he couldn't walk. Heero made the decision to haul him up into one of the ceiling vents to give him time to rest and bandage the few wounds that were outwardly bleeding.

Since the vent was so small, Duo had spent the entire time leaning back into Heero's body without the abdominal strength to sit up. Though he didn't realize it at the time, he'd fallen asleep in Heero's arms over a dozen times. Sure, he was hurt, but he wasn't so damaged to warrant that much rest. At no point did Heero try to wake him, either.

"I'm going to go get bandaging supplies," Heero said flatly, leaving the bathroom. "Keep an eye out for a broom for next time," Duo muttered sarcastically under his breath.

"I heard that," Heero called from outside. Duo winced.

Duo pillaged through the drawers in the bathroom cabinets until he found a pair of tweezers. Sitting down on the edge of the jacuzzi - fittingly, this mansion didn't have a single average tub - Duo started yanking the shards of glass out of his feet and ankles. Luckily none of them had gone too deep, but a few would require some kind of stitching in order to heal without a gaping scar. He dipped his feet under the warm stream of water and washed and rinsed the area with soap. Just as he was finishing up, Heero returned carrying a red plastic medical kit.

"Still no broom?" Duo joked. Heero eyed him without saying anything. _Great, we're back to this again_ , Duo thought bitterly.

Heero sat down next to him on the rim of the jacuzzi and peered in to assess Duo's washed feet. The cuts had clotted enough that they were no longer streaming blood, but walking would likely caused them to reopen if not managed. "How many stitches do you need?" Heero asked

"Steri Strips would work fine. There's really only four and they're not that deep."

Heero rummaged through the kit and passed Duo a box of strips which he took out and fastened awkwardly over his cuts with one hand. Watching Duo's shotty one-handed workmanship, Heero stepped in and reapplied the Steri Strips so that they actually held the skin together. The other cuts only required Bandaids, but the final result of taping made Duo's feet and ankles looks much worse than the felt.

"This means I can't even go back in the pool now, huh?" Duo mused quietly. Forget his arm. No one wanted to swim around in his blood.

"You can do other things," Heero answered.

"Yeah. Lay on the beach chairs and watch you guys having fun, I guess."

"No, you just have to keep your feet out of the water. There's seats in the hot tub that you can use to sit on and prop your feet up on the pool deck."

"That sounds comfortable," Duo added sarcastically. "Sitting sideways with my feet way above my head and nothing to lean on would last maybe five minutes tops."

"You could lean against some of Trowa's fun noodles."

"I'm surprised you know those are called fun noodles," Duo mocked. He was in no position to be making fun of Heero, which was probably why he was doing it. Besides, Heero was the one that threw the bottle. He would at least have that leverage.

"During my training we used them to simulate a potential space cephalopod attack," Heero said flatly. Duo thought he heard a bit of sarcasm, but with Heero it was too subtle to really tell.

"What's a cephalopod?" Duo asked. _Sounds like some kind of shuttle_ , Duo thought.

"Nevermind," Heero answered, smiling discretely. Duo gaped at him. This was the third time he'd ever seen Heero smile. What the hell was a cephalopod?!

Heero's noticed Duo's reaction and glared. "I do smile sometimes, ya know."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"When was the last time, then?" Duo challenged.

Heero took a moment to debate the question before responding. "L-11." Duo thought back. That was the same colony where they had the mission that landed them both up in the vent.

Duo was considering asking about the specifics of the smile before Heero changed the subject. "Anyways, we don't have any casting material," Heero said as he gave another look through the med kit. "They must not have restocked it after the time you broke your ankle jumping out of a window."

Duo huffed. That sounded like an accusation. "To be fair, I still haven't thought of a better way out of that situation. It was either a broken ankle or a bullet in my ass."

"You're ass would have kicked me less if I were trying to bandage it," Heero said pointedly. He had a fair argument. Generally, when an injury occurred on the front of Duo's body, Heero tended to take the brunt of Duo's automatic counter attacks.

"Perhaps you're lucky there aren't any casting supplies, then" Duo relinquished jokingly. Again, Heero smiled. Man, he was on a role today.

"You should lay down for a bit and immobilize your arm. I'll get some ice from downstairs to put on it," Heero suggested as he rose from the jacuzzi edge.

"I'll just go out on one of the beach chairs so I can still be in the sun," Duo mentioned off-handedly. It was still going to be warm out even if he couldn't enjoy the pool easily.

"No," Heero answered sternly. Duo was taken aback and waited for an explanation. When it came, it was weak.

"I don't want the ice to melt. Plus we'd have to take one of the bed pillows outside to help stabilize your arm and it would get dirty."

 _Yeah, but we could just change the pillow case_ , Duo thought. He decided not to argue anymore since Heero seemed so adamant about it. What the hell was his deal, anyways?

"Just lay down. I'll be right back," Heero said as he departed. _Fuck, is this guy's getting controlling again_ , Duo thought. Why the fuck couldn't he go out into the sun? Duo made his way to the bed, pulled back the top sheet, and grabbed an extra pillow that he could use to help prop up his forearm. He scrounged through his bag and pulled out a new pair of boxers, shorts, and a simple black button down shirt. It wasn't until he went to take off his swim trunks that he realized there was a problem.

"Shit," he said to himself as his right hand fingers ineptly tried to undo the double knot he'd tied at his waist. Despite tugging and using the hard plastic ends of the strings to try prying apart the knot, the strings were simply too tight for one hand to conquer alone. After a couple minutes he tried to just slip the trunks over his hips still tied, but only got them down a couple inches before they got stuck. He cursed again. His left arm was getting tired.

When a knock came at the door, Duo jumped. "Are you changed yet? I have ice," Heero called through the door. _Oh fuck_ , Duo thought.

"Um, hold on, gimme just another minute!" Duo called back nervously. Suspiciously, rather, which didn't go unnoticed by Heero.

"Are you okay?" Heero called again.

"Yes! Just gimme a minute!" He needed to at least get his fucking shirt on. Duo slipped his bad arm into one sleeve first then spun the garment so that he could dangle his other arm in. With both sleeves on, Duo now realized the next problem with his garments.

"Why the fuck did I choose a shirt with buttons!?" he cursed at himself. At this rate it would take him an hour for his bad arm to accomplish just one.

"What did you say?" Heero asked.

"No, I wasn't talking to you," Duo mumbled stupidly. Now he needed to get his good arm back out of the shirt and find something else to wear. This was becoming a giant mess.

"I'm coming in, I hope you're dressed," Heero called again, this time turning the knob and opening the door to find Duo still standing, half out of one shirt and half in another with his swim trunks still drooping low on his hips. Heero's immediate reaction was, of course, to laugh.

"Fuck you," Duo seethed through his blue T-shirt that he'd chosen to replace the button down, but was now partially blocking his mouth. "I can't do the knots or buttons."

Heero laughed for a couple more seconds before finally recovering. "I'll help," Heero said, smiling yet again. Goddamnit. He walked up to Duo, set an ice bag down on the bedside table, and immediately went to the knot on Duo's trunks.

"Hey wait, can't I at least put a shirt on first?" Duo asked nervously with the shirt still smothering his voice. He was going to be starkly naked considering the T-shirt he'd chosen wasn't exactly 'on'. Heero, of course, ignored him and in one quick motion, slipped the trunks down Duo's bare legs. Duo gulped as stood there, speechless. And then Heero, non-discretely, looked down.

Out of instinct, Duo abandoned the T-shirt, reeled back, and caught Heero with a left-handed hook right in the jaw. Although Heero stepped back to absorb the hit, his eyes still remained downcast. "What the HELL!" Duo yelled, tightening his now aching fist again and preparing for another punch. Duo swung again at Heero's face, but this time Heero deflected the throw with his palm and quickly stepped forward to close the distance between the two so that they were centimeters away from touching. Duo's face turned bright red with embarrassment and anger. He was about to yell before Heero draped his other arm around around his waist, pulled his body flush into his, and pressed his lips against Duo's.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for everyone that reviewed, favorited, and alerted my story! Your feedback was honestly what kept me writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy the new spin. ;D**

 **Warning: Rated M for continued, excessive swearing and explicit sexual encounters.**

 **Chapter 2: 'Oh shit'**

Fight.

Flight.

Freeze.

Duo didn't believe Quatre when he said that 'freeze' was the third human reaction to fear. _You're just drunk_ , Duo remembered saying in response as the two had sat aboard one of Quatre's business shuttles on it's way to rendezvous with a potential investor. Although Quatre ended up not needing Duo's help, he'd initially invited him along for 'security' which Duo quickly retitled to 'drinking buddy' upon finding the two billion dollar shuttle had a full mini bar stashed under a gilded replica of the outer solar system and it's orbiting moons. Quatre - though potentially meeting with a critical investor for his company - was the first to crack open a bottle of aged wine.

 _I'm serious, Duo. There's actually a lot of people that react that way_ , Quatre had emphasized by finishing his glass and setting it down firmly on the table. In response, Duo had poured yet another shot of rum into his Cabinet Sauvignon.

 _On L-2, there was always something bigger than you. If you didn't run, you'd die_ , Duo had mused thoughtfully. He swirled his glass to fully mix his worrisome concoction. _And you fought when you're only other option was to die._

 _I'm sure you've froze before_ , Quatre had insisted, but despite how much Duo had drunkenly contemplated it, he could not think of a single instance - not even during the following year after the conversation. That was up until now, at least.

"Breathe, Duo," Heero whispered lowly into Duo's ear after his lips had traced a plentiful trail of soft, wet kisses up his neck. Duo exhaled heavily - not realizing he'd been holding it in since Heero's lips had first come in contact with his. The resulting gasping breaths for air pressed his bare chest firmly against Heero's despite his attempt to make them shallower - to make less contact, but he couldn't. Heero's arm held him firmly around the waist and nullified his meager attempts to step back.

"W-wait," Duo struggled to choke out as Heero's free hand began to knead slowly up the tense muscles of his back. The pressure made Duo realize just how rigid he was, but leaning away from it meant leaning further into Heero. Duo's eyes were wide open, watching frightfully as Heero's mouth dove into the opposite crook of his neck - sucking gently at the skin and forcing Duo's head to nod over to allow him more access. Duo needed to move - he knew that. He needed to step away. But just as his back was rigid and his good arm maintained a constant pushing force against Heero's bicep, Duo's legs were stiff. _Move, Duo_ , he thought distantly as Heero's mouth found purchase on his earlobe and took the flap into his mouth greedily to flick over it with his tongue. _That...feels…_ , Duo thought helplessly as he tried to shake the sensation from his mind. He couldn't recall ever being kissed there before. If he had, he certainly would have remembered. Heero tried to pull his chest in closer, but Duo's sore fingers dug into the warm muscle of Heero's arm to prevent him. He needed to at least maintain that resistance until he got control over himself again. Their hips were already firmly touching and through Heero's swim trunks it was easy to feel….

 _No, don't think about that_ , Duo willed himself as Heero's lips moved back up to his mouth. Why was he letting this happen? Sure, he'd gotten one punch in already, but Heero obviously was overdue for another. There was just something...nice about it. Duo's thoughts flitted back and forth as Heero's lips caught his lower lip, tugging at it playfully. Duo leaned his head back slowly in a weak attempt to avoid the stimulus, trying to decide what to do, but Heero's hand glided up his back to support the base of his neck. Just as his knuckles had massaged his torso, so did they relax the rigid muscles of his neck and guide his chin forward. Being massaged was a luxury he'd only experienced a couple of times. Once was by Sister Helen back at the church who, after his positive response to the newly implemented morning backrub, had promised to wake him up like that more often. Unfortunately, that same morning was the day of the attack - there were no other mornings at the church after that. The second time was more recent when he was waking up from anesthesia after his knee surgery and Heero was…touching his neck just like now….

Duo sighed breathily as he realized the familiarity of Heero's hands. They'd never kissed before, but coming out of anesthesia Duo had thought his friend's hands were moving along his back, and up and down his sides, rather purposefully. At the time he'd attributed it to the drugs, but Heero's body was quickly reaffirming that he hadn't imagined it. Duo tucked his chin down, but Heero took the chance to recapture his mouth - which came, frustratingly, easy. As Heero's lips moved effortlessly against his, Duo found himself following along. Kissing wasn't something unfamiliar for Duo. Back when he and Hilde had dated unsuccessfully for a year before she kicked him out, they had experimented with various types of kisses - pecks, hurried lip smacks, and frenching. Surely, Duo had assumed, the pinnacle of kissing pleasure was derived from the length of time tongues swirled in each other's mouths. Heero was proving him wrong - very, very wrong.

Duo's eyes were wide open and as Heero momentarily broke apart, then moved in on him again. But for the fright from anticipation, Heero's lips were soft as they made contact and slid...slow. _What am I doing?_ , Duo thought, pursing his lips to seal them shut. _Shit, just knock him off you, Duo!_ Despite his resistance, Heero continued at the same pace - drawing him in. It wasn't necessarily the touch, but the lingering crawl that seeped through his terse lips and infiltrated his mind. Any slower - Duo imagined - and he'd have mastered his thoughts and stiff body and easily pulled away; any faster and the fright might have overwhelmed him and he could have run.

Without realizing it, Duo's mouth had relaxed - allowing more freedom for Heero to play. The shape of his lips was the next part Duo's mind began to contemplate. Thick in the middle, smooth on the sides, meeting with the relaxed pliable folds of his own mouth. Every now and then Heero's tongue would slide out to stroke against Heero's bottom lip before retreating. It was never far - only enough for Heero to barely noticed it before Heero would dive in for a firm, wet press against his mouth. Heero's lips were sliding over his with precision - triggering , in Duo, something needy. With each mild retreat of Heero's mouth - only enough to still maintain faint contact - Duo found his neck drooping forward little by little in pursuit. His firm, opposing pressure on Heero's arm was beginning to relax.

 _Duo, what are you doing?_ , he pleaded to himself. This should not have been happening. Heero was his coworker - his ally. They were just friends, right? _I...I think so_ , Duo thought hazily as Heero's lips withdrew completely, causing Duo's head to nod forward and follow them. The break allowed Duo to catch his breath, but he immediately opened his eyes to see Heero staring back at him. Heero's expression was the same as always, but Duo noticed a general softening around the edges - like someone had chiseled away the rough corners of his brow, cheeks, and open, temping mouth. Duo shook the thought away, but it kept coming back.

"Are you alright?" Heero asked lowly. Now was his chance. _Just say 'no'_ , Duo thought as he made purposeful contact with Heero's eyes. It only lasted a moment before he had to look down. Heero's eyes were brimming with desire. Duo could tell he very much did not wish for it to end, but here he was - showing Duo the exit should he want it. No one had ever looked at Duo that strongly before and it made him feel...curious. If Heero had put so much effort into his kisses, what would the rest of it be like?

It was then that Duo began to notice his own ache between his legs - the swelling. Oh, he wanted Heero to kiss him again.

"I-I'm...n-not sure," Duo stuttered nervously; eyes still downcast. He swallowed hard - knowing instantly that he had just betrayed himself. He felt like he needed to say more, to explain himself, but the words were becoming caught in his throat. His body tensed even more, making it hard for his muscles to maintain his erect posture. The anticipation of what was coming next amid the sudden, stifling air of silence between the two was suffocating. _Holy shit, Heero. Say something!_ , Duo thought as he could feel himself beginning to panic. His pulse beat loudly in his ears as his mind narrowed to focus on what was directly in front of him - Heero's naked chest - which was correctly swiftly.

Reaching in, Heero lifted Duo's chin - meeting minimal resistance. Their eyes locked and once again, Duo felt the urge to turn away. Soft, moist contact from Heero's lips changed his mind. _Ohhh_ , he thought as the panicked pulsing in his ears synced with the growing ache - no, throbbing - of his cooing member.

"Breathe," Heero instructed again. Duo gasped repeatedly. Heero sucked at his lower lip playfully as he waited patiently for Duo to catch his breath. Breathing was apparently becoming the last system his body was focusing on.

Heero's attention shifted back to Duo's neck. His lips met the soft underside of Duo's chin - softly, but assertively pushing his head back as the lips trailed slowly, intoxicatingly down to his collar bone. _He's my friend_ , Duo thought hazily, allowing Heero to push him back further. Apart from the stroking movements, the full effect of the three shots of tequila he'd taken earlier was beginning to sink in. Standing in the arched position was making his legs want to give out, but where would he go instead? Onto the bed that he'd already pulled back the covers for? _Fuck, Duo. If you do at least one thing right do not get on the fucking bed_ , Duo thought pitifully.

By leaning back, the contact between his legs was becoming more firm. Although he'd been trying to arch away from it before, the current position made it impossible. It had been a long time since he'd been touched - since Hilde. Although he'd joked with the others about wild nights at bars leading to anonymous women following him home, Duo was too pathetic for such extravaganzas. His alcohol limit was four shots and once he met his threshold, he would simply fall asleep. Heero, his friend, had carried his passed-out ass home from bars on multiple occasions because of this character flaw. For this reason, perhaps, Heero knew Duo wasn't getting laid. _Maybe that is why he's becoming so aggressive now_ , Duo thought as Heero's hands moved to knead the lowest possible area of Duo's back. _Maybe this is why I'm not fighting back_.

Duo's brief contemplation was short lived as a shot of pure pleasure radiated through his member; milking him back to the heightening sensation between his legs. The throbbing was intense now. Duo thought the the wetness must have been from Heero's swim trunks, but he remembered that Heero had never actually stepped into the pool. His skin was becoming soaked with sweat from the unrelenting, hot groin contact. Duo swallowed hard, realizing that the moisture also could have easily been leaking from his pulsing shaft. He wanted Heero to both stop and to move; to grind against him strong and hard so that his legs buckled and wound around Heero's body out of delirious pleasure.

 _I can't control this anymore_ , Duo thought meekly as Heero's lips had traveled their way down his arched chest - moving to the right to glaze over his nipple before returning to flick the sensitive area teasingly. Every fiber of his body was hyper aware of touch, now, and begging for it. Heero didn't have enough hands - there wasn't enough contact. The area of greatest influence was begging for Heero to reach down between them and grasp hard.

 _Oh god, please move your hips_ , Duo pleaded. Instinctually, Duo felt the urge to spread his legs. His right foot left the floor as his knee began to rise up, but before Duo could correct himself, Heero queued into the opening. Pulling Duo's low back in closer, Heero ground deep into Duo's hips. Pleasure shot through Duo's body like electricity as it took every fiber of his being not to cry out. Duo quickly put down his leg, but it was too late.

Without meaning to, Duo gave out a soft, low moan as Heero ground against his penis harder. Duo could feel the delicate skin of his shaft slide and blood swell. The throbbing begged him to rub back - to grind ferociously to satisfy his sexual desire - as his pulse radiated throughout his loins. Duo began to imagine what it would feel like if Heero's trunks weren't in the way. Things would be less constricted. Like the softness of Heero's lips Duo began to imagine that Heero's skin must have felt warm and shaped and...wet. Duo was getting warmer. Harder. The next moan that came was deep and hollow and _loud_.

 _Ohhh I like this_ , Duo thought as he began to willingly slide his knee back up Heero's leg - opening his hips yet again. _Ohhh Heero_. _Please don't stop_. Heero's hips were rhythmic now as they ground into him greedily. The skin of Duo's member moved freely against his erect shaft with each rock. It felt good - very, very good. The ledge of Duo's tip rubbed hard against the laces of Heero's swim trunks causing extra friction. The sensation of his tip being milked far enough to flick over the edge of a lace was making Duo moan continuously. He wanted to come and at this rate it wouldn't be long until he did.

Duo felt his friend's free hand move lower, sliding down over his naked ass to find a firm grip adjacent to his entrance. During the next grind, Heero pulled up on him, causing the pressure to increase lower against his balls. "Fucckk!" Duo cried out as his legs trembled from the new sensation.

His entire body was shaking now, making it hard to stand on just one leg. Luckily, Heero had a solution. Scooping Duo up by the thighs, Heero quickly lifted him off the ground and spun them around to face the bed. Duo's arms draped around Heero's shoulders for support - making Duo hyper aware of the warmth radiating off of Heero's bare chest and his nipples pressed in against him. Heero took them both down, supporting Duo's broken arm, and immediately ground Duo hard into the mattress.

"Ohh!" Duo cried out as Heero resumed his previous pace. With something sturdy to push against, Duo was finding it impossible to restrain himself now. The pace began to pick up and Duo watched as Heero moved above him - unable to see his eyes as Heero's head had dropped to rest against Duo's ear. With Heero's lips so close, Duo began making out the sounds of bridled panting. Heero's panting - no, Heero's pleasure. Duo laid his head back and closed his eyes to focus on the pressure between his hips, the growing spikes of pleasure that throbbed in member as Heero humped down, and the sounds of his own willful moans mixing with the sound of the bed creaking beneath them. Without realizing, his own hips began to rock slowly up into Heero's. He needed more pressure. He needed to feel fucking _more_. His mind began to fantasize of Heero's swim trunks removed and instead of humping Heero was aligned to be pounding deep into his….

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Quatre asked suddenly from the other side of the door. _Their_ bedroom door.

Duo's head snapped up, wide-eyed. _OH MY GOD WHAT AM I FUCKING DOING!?_ Duo thought, as he turned sharply to look at the door.

"YES!" Duo yelled back loudly. Heero had sat up on his elbows, but maintained his contact against Duo. He continued grinding slowly, making Duo squirm as he struggled to stay quiet.

"Oh...well I...just wanted to let you know the volleyball net it up. Is Heero in there with you?" Quatre continued.

Duo locked eyes with Heero who had also focused to Quatre's voice, but seemed significantly less concerned. Heero's eyes were slitted with the deepest focus Duo had seen in them since the take down of Mariemaia. But the longer Duo stared, the more he identified there was something else there. Heero was wild, feral - scouting his prey - and by Duo's moaning, desperately hungry. Quatre - at that moment - was the last thing on his mind.

"Um, he's, not here," Duo mumbled deftly in response. It wasn't the Heero that he was used to, anyways. "Heero, people are here," Duo whispered, embarrassed. Ignoring him, Heero leaned down to kiss him seductively.

"Okay, I'll look around and let him know," Quatre mentioned heartily. "Trowa is raiding the pantry, by the way. Plenty of food for dinner and plenty of snacks for drinking."

Locked at the lips, Duo was beginning to feel a familiar flushing sensation spread from his abdomen and down his inner thighs. He could feel the pleasure in his member begin to develop a strong cramping that started in his balls and traveled upward toward his tip. It wasn't just spikes of sexual tingling during humps, now. At a baseline, the excitement was growing more and more and Duo's eyes began to widen as they stared at Heero who still maintained a seal on his mouth.

 _Oh my god I'm going to cum_ , Duo thought as his eyes rolled backwards and his legs - still pinned against Heero's sides as his friend stroked down between them - began to tremble. His toes, alternatively, flared out.

"Duo, did you hear me?" Quatre asked again.

"Y-yes," Duo stuttered out meekly before immediately biting his lips again. Duo knew his voice wasn't loud enough for Quatre to hear, but he couldn't risk repeating himself. The lump of Heero's cock through his trunks was teasing him to moan out as the pleasure was becoming too exponential to contain. Heero sat back up on his elbows again to watch Duo's face struggle as Duo began to feel the threatening twitches through his member signifying the beginning of an orgasm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Quatre asked. _Oh fuck yes I am!_ , Duo thought as his lower abdomen tightened in preparation.

"I'm coming in."

 _NO QUATRE!_ Duo panicked knowing there was nothing he could do. Even if he could push Heero off, he wouldn't be able to roll off the bed in time with his broken arm. Fortunately, as the bedroom knob began to turn, Heero was at least able to respond. Jumping off of Duo and flying over the bed like an African gazelle, Heero bolted into the bathroom and discretely shut the door behind him as Quatre emerged into the room. Unfortunatly, Duo - still head-over-heels in pre orgasm splendor - did not react really at all.

"Oh...shit. I am so sorry!" Quatre said, quickly turning back to face the door. His obvious embarrassment was permeating the atmosphere, which Duo would have contributed to had he not been toted right to the edge of cuming then having it immediately stop - like a rocket hitting a goddamn space moose. _It's over just like that_ , Duo thought. The lingering cold breeze of Heero swooping over him made him shiver - particularly after his skin had become accustomed to Heero's heat. He couldn't recall ever feeling so abandoned. His member, still desperately seeking the pressure it had been lovingly fallen victim to, was straight up in the air as Duo continued laying on his back with his legs partially gaping. _No way_ , Duo thought sadly as he began to accept the full weight of the situation. Heero and him were finished. Done. He wasn't going to be relieved and on top of it, Quatre had now witnessed him in a rather compromising position. The extremes of feelings were overwhelming and Duo found himself biting the inside of his cheek to stay quiet. _Don't sigh, don't cry, just don't do anything_ , he thought, morose. _Just act like everything's normal and it will be_. _I...should not have been doing that with Heero to begin with_. His breaths began to slow as he felt the sexual adrenaline from the encounter leech out into the blankets around him. It wasn't until Quatre spoke again that Duo finally queued-in to throw a blanket over himself.

"I'm so sorry," Quatre apologized again. "I'll leave now."

"No, just hold on," Duo said quietly as he sat up on the edge of the bed. His eyes were downcast on the floor, looking at his bandaged toes sifting into the warm, soft carpeting while his hands nervously wound around the blanket in his lap - making a tight knot over his still stiff member. He felt too heartbroken, still too embarrassed to face Quatre who was already one step away from exiting, but he couldn't let him leave. "I need help getting dressed," Duo muttered stupidly. "My arm is broken and I...can't get the button." Having to say it out loud knocked him down another peg, but he needed Quatre's help - not only with his pants. Under no circumstances could he not leave the room without him. Just as he couldn't face Quatre, he couldn't imagine trying to restart with Heero. _God, why did I let this happen?_ , Duo scolded himself; beginning to become more frustrated than depressed. Its was his fault. It was Heero's fault. Hell, if he hadn't jumped off the goddamned roof then he wouldn't have even been in the bedroom.

"Are you...sure you don't need to deal with things first?" Quatre asked sheepishly, still not looking back at Duo. Fucking christ, how did he get himself in this situation? Really, he just needed Quatre to leave so Heero could come back out of the bathroom and….

No. No, that couldn't happen. This needed to stop. Now.

"No...I need some air. Just help, will ya?" Duo pleaded. He found a pair of boxers and shorts setting on the top of his bag to exchange for the swim trunks that were still lying suggestively bundled on the floor. He considered just getting back into his swim suit, but he honestly needed to go on a walk first. Throwing the boxers then shorts over his feet, he pulled them up his hips with one arm - clasping the front material closed as best he could. Sure enough, it was difficult maneuvering the material over his still very erect member, but he positioned his hand to an angle where he could at least hold it down. It continued to throb in protest.

Passively, Quatre walked over and went for the zipper - pulling it up without ulterior motives rather than down, unlike the asshole in the bathroom. "Sorry for putting you through this shit," Duo apologized sincerely as he tried to mask his growing frustration at himself. Although Quatre had likely seen him naked a number of times, they needed to maintain at least some semblance of boundaries.

"It's fine," Quatre acknowledged, finally looking up and giving Duo one of his signature 'oh don't worry, you'll pay me back someday' smiles. Duo winced. Whoever said Quatre was the least threatening of the gundam pilots had never been indebted to him.

Quatre fastened the top button of Duo's shorts and stepped back. "So you broke your arm?" he asked, examining the limb hanging at Duo's side. "It looks like it's swelling. You should put ice on it." Gently palpating it, Duo could tell the obvious swelling was also making the tissue harder and slightly warmer than his surrounding skin. Somehow the pain hadn't bothered him at all while Heero was on top of him, but now that he was reminded of it again the injury began to ache. Come to think of it, Heero's forearm had...helped support his down to the mattress. _I didn't realize_ , Duo thought as he contemplated the action. The only possible explanation was that Heero didn't want to accidentally hurt him. Duo gulped as he began to feel uncertain again - the same nervous questioning that he had when Heero first began to kiss him.

 _Maybe I should stay to talk to him?_ , Duo thought, glancing sideways at the closed bathroom door. From underneath, he could make out the two slight shadows of Heero's feet as he waited patiently. Unfortunately for him, Duo wasn't sure whether he'd be there when he came out.

"Are you alright?" Quatre suddenly asked, breaking Duo's attention away from his wandering thoughts.

"Oh, yeah," Duo muttered stupidly. "I'm not sure what I should do."

"What do you mean?" Quatre questioned, eyeing him. His eyebrows were furrowed, no doubt having noticed Duo's overall hesitant demeanor and inability to stay focused. The look was all too familiar. After the war, Sally had suggested psychological evaluations for each of the pilots which, of course, came with extreme opposition - particularly from Duo. When everyone refused, the Preventors made it mandatory criteria in order to join their ranks. While the others gave in immediately - although still disgruntledly - for a chance to reattain their prior self-understanding, Duo was convinced he could make it in life without being a Preventor. It lasted all of two years until he was being dragged as a civilian into enough missions anyways that he finally decided to join. His psych evaluation examiner, an older woman that smelled faintly of alcohol, had failed him within five minutes of beginning the test and referred him to mandatory counseling. Duo had attended the minimum number of times and spoke rarely, but it was easy for him to identify those soft, therapeutic eyes. For once, for Quatre, Duo actually felt like he could talk.

"I mean…" Duo started, unsure of how to continue. He felt scared, nervous, unsure, aroused and desirous all at once. Being able to at least lament some of it, his therapist assured, would make him feel less tense. At that moment - looking at Quatre - Duo actually believed her. The only problem was that Heero was still in the bathroom waiting and surely listening. _What am I doing_ , Duo thought while his fingers laced together and twisted nervously. Without saying anything, Quatre's eyes slowly shift to the bathroom door.

 _SHIT._

"I mean, I'm going to go on a walk to find Wufei! He might have a casting kit with him," Duo suddenly spurted louder than necessary. As much as his new emotions were churning violently within him, nothing good was going to come from a confrontation of Quatre finding Heero-fucking-Yuy stashed away after Duo had already told Quatre he wasn't in the bedroom.

"I can go find some sort of sling for you," Quatre suggested, but Duo shook his head. "It's alright, I'll just go find Wufei. Thank you, though," Duo said as he began to head toward the door - fast. Quatre luckily followed in pursuit.

"So I guess this means no volleyball?" Quatre mused as they reached the hallway.

"Yeah, sorry," Duo responded. Pausing at the door, he looked back once more at the bathroom and took a deep breath before continuing. _First bullet of the mission successfully dodged_ , he thought, relieved. He knew he needed to talk to Heero about what happened, but now was not the time. Although Duo wanted to believe that their interaction would go differently next time, he was nervous by how easy Heero had pacified and consumed him. Surely, not getting laid in six months was taking it's toll.

"How did you break your arm, anyways?" Quatre ventured.

"I jumped off the roof."

"Not very well?"

"Not very well," Duo confirmed. Quatre looked at him, smirking. Duo couldn't help but grin back. Unlike the other pilots who would have scolded Duo for his lack of foresight, he and Quatre had an understanding. Sometimes, idiots just did what idiots wanted.

"Heero's gonna nail you for this, you know?" Quatre mused as they took the stairs together. _You have no idea_ , Duo thought begrudgingly. Goddammit, how was he going to fix this?

* * *

"SHIT FUCK, DUO! WHY ARE YOU SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT!" Duo yelled as he took out his anger on a smoothed beach stone that went flying off of his foot. The stone eventually rolled to a stop and Duo readjusted his path to hunt it back down. Although he hadn't found the rock during the first lap around the sandy perimeter of the island, the helpless rock had traveled with him over the next quarter of a lap and was now, apart from yelling into the sea breeze, his only outlet.

"He's your friend. Period. I don't know why the fuck he came up on you like that, but you should have hightailed it the fuck out of there instead of freezing like a goddamned apocalyptic dinosaur!" Despite the lengthy string of curses over the last hour and a half, he was beginning to feel worse rather than better. Duo came upon the awaiting stone and sent it skipping further down the beach.

"And seriously! Where the fuck is Wufei!" Duo yelled, exasperated. Although he hadn't had much hope finding him when he initially set out on his trek, it was peculiar that Wufei hadn't even made any sort of radio contact since arriving at the island; particularly since the other pilots were suppose to be helping set up for the mission tomorrow. Duo checked the preventor radio at his hip, reaffirming - as he had already done multiple times - that it was on and the volume was dialed up.

"You're not gay. You're not interested in him," Duo willed himself. He took a swaying side step as the liquor relaxed his legs - making them mildly wobbly. Although he'd begun to finally feel the effects back at the mansion, the three shots (plus the extra two he'd nabbed before 'B'-lining it out the front door) had left him defenseless to his sexual confusion. Although this was a circumstance he'd usually bury deep into his personal sinkhole of unmanageable traumas, the alcohol kept it afloat - spinning around the rim of the hole endlessly. Duo could do nothing but let it out.

"Maybe if you got laid once in a goddamn blood moon you wouldn't be so easily seduced!" Duo yelled again. He came upon the rock once again and sent it flying, but this time it angled hard off his foot and went skipping into the lapping waves. Duo looked out over the pristine blue Caribbean water - deciding that no other stone was worthy of his torment - and plopped onto the sand in defeat. His broken arm, which he had been bracing against his chest as he lapped the island, was throbbing now. Although he wanted to tie up his braid into a low knot so that he could get the salty weight of it off his bare back, he wasn't willing to risk the pain of trying to move his injury. At this point, his arm needed to be casted, iced, and elevated, but propping it up on a pillow meant going back to the mansion and he was, quite simply, not prepared. No doubt Heero must have been looking for him to 'talk things over', but Duo wasn't willing to fully confront him yet. Sure, cussing him out would have been easy enough in his current inflamed state, but somehow the contemplation of the plan kept turning sour. Some part of Duo didn't want to hurt him.

"When did you turn into such a softy?" Duo whispered under his breath. He sighed heavily again as he looked out over the ocean. The island was, by definition, isolated and lacked any surrounding string of neighbouring land masses. Although he'd seen a couple tropical birds on his walk, any scampering wildlife was either nocturnal or selectively absent - or dead. With the low grassy plains and sparse forest on the Northern end of the coast, there was not much natural protection from the seasonal hurricane. Although the mansion looked easily pliable from its white stucko exterior, thick layers of solid concrete or metal must have been fortifying the walls. Should the island reveal its true identity as a pissed off undersea volcano, Duo suspected they would have been fine - altogether toasty...

...like the warm sensation still begging for attention between his legs.

Duo squirmed, trying to release the tension, but no matter what position he was in his member still cooed for touch. Although he'd been trying to push the idea to the back of his mind, his body wouldn't let him forget how good he had felt and how _close_ he had come to crying out in unbridled pleasure below Heero's rocking hips.

"Stop thinking about that," Duo groaned. He focused on the horizon and the distant waves far out at sea, but he stayed distracted only until the warmth of the sand beneath him or a ghostly sea gust flitted across his chest - reminding him of Heero's warmth and Heero's touch. His member, never fully satisfied, pushed against the seams of his shorts. Duo gulped as he reluctantly looked down between his legs. If he stroked off, would anyone see him? He was nearly to the other end of the island from the mansion when he sat down and although it was mid day, he was certain he was alone. God, he needed to be alone.

 _No, do not fucking do that_ , Duo thought, angry at himself for considering the idea - more than just once. During his walk, he'd reluctantly inspected and labeled every tree and dune as 'crouch-behind-' worthy. Self-thwarting his every attempt to stop and relieve himself with a quick hand job, he was becoming increasingly more desperate now that a solid hour hadn't done anything to dissipate his erection. Surely the alcohol was influencing, but he was also having a hard time keeping thoughts of his and Heero's...encounter...out of his mind.

With a sigh, Duo stretched out and laid down on his back. He helped assist his injured arm to lay flat against the warm sand next to him - which felt nice despite ice still needing to be the modality of choice. Closing his eyes, he focused on the warmth of the sun radiating against his skin and the sound of the gulls squawking out at sea as a fellow gull refused to share in its catch. Duo had always imagined the atmosphere from movies, but hadn't ever experienced it for himself. L-2, surprisingly, severely lacked sandy beaches and a viable bird population. During a particularly memorable experiment, 1,400 pigeons had been introduced to scientifically determine whether wildlife was able to coexist with space citizens and infrastructure. Unfortunately, the experiment had failed in less than a year. Although the official report stated that the pigeons were 'unable to reproduce sufficiently', Duo knew firsthand that the pigeons who hadn't been caught by hungry orphans and roasted over barrel drum bonfires experienced their fate by becoming caught in waste collectors and jettisoned out into the void of space. To this day, 'Wish upon a frozen pigeon' was a common L-2 saying.

 _As was 'Don't let yourself get dry humped by a narcissistic dipshit_ ', Duo thought bitterly. _When the fuck did you start saying 'dipshit', loser?_ Duo groaned. Despite taking deep, slow breaths and focusing on the sunshine, he was becoming more and more flustered. He could not, for the life of him, get his member to calm the fuck down. _I just need to relieve it_ , Duo thought, nodding to himself. _After that I'll be fine_. _There's no one here. There's no one here_ , he reaffirmed.

 _Just do it_.

His good arm was free to do what he wanted - what his member begged hungrily for - should he chose. Duo could feel himself becoming harder with the anticipation of finally coming. He just needed to go for it regardless of the consequences, because otherwise the next time he saw Heero he might let him climb on top again and….

"Ohh," Duo cooed softly as his hand slipped below his waistband and made grazing contact with his tip. As much as he wanted to undo his pants - how easy it would be - he couldn't afford not being able to put them back on again. His fingertips tried to squeeze and stroke with what little reach they had, but the contact wasn't enough. Duo couldn't slip his hand low enough into his shorts to grasp his shaft and make it leak like Heero had. The more he tried, the more hard he became and the more desirous the idea of just saying "fuck it" and unbuttoning his pants was. _No, no I can't_ , Duo thought as he rolled onto his side and curled up - hoping to reduce the distance his hand needed to reach to touch himself. He could stroke the entirety of the tip now, but he still couldn't manage the shaft. Nevertheless, he took what he could.

"Mmm," Duo sighed, closing his eyes as his fingers massaged into the soft tissue just far enough to glaze over the sensitive base of his head. His fingers twisted and pulled at the head, kneading it as blood rushed in and swelled. Every nerve was crying for touch that Duo couldn't provide. Duo rolled back onto his back and arched his hips in hopes of a better angle. Tantalizingly, he could still reach no further. "Oh please," Duo begged, rolling onto all but his stomach for more. _This is awfu_ l, Duo thought as the initial pleasure pulses subsided and his member became use to the inadequate stimulation.

And then he began to think of Heero and the way he rocked over him and….

"No, shit!" Duo whined as he withdrew his hand from his pants and tossed it up over his head to get it as far away from his screaming cock as possible. "Fuck, I have to stop! He's just my friend!"

He groaned, realizing that he was even more hard, but understood _why_ he couldn't continue. _If you think of Heero while you're doing that, it'll be easier for you to end up in that situation again_ , Duo thought. _And you're not interested in him. He's a gundam pilot...and a guy, I guess. You can't be interested._

"I need to think about something unappealing," Duo muttered. Hell, if he were actually able to find Wufei he'd have gone flaccid instantly. Nothing like good ol' mutual hate and subsequent distrust in the benevolence of humanity to hush the loins.

With an initial squawk of white noise, the radio at Duo's hip suddenly came to life - making him jump. "Wufei and Duo, meeting at the mansion tonight in thirty minutes," Trowa's voice translated roughly over the radio. Duo could have screamed. Certain body parts were, by no means, prepared to go back to the mansion. "Please confirm," Trowa continued.

Grabbing the radio, Duo pressed the speech button on the side to replay. "Fucking roger," he lamented before throwing the radio down into the sand. When no reply came, not even from Wufei, Duo figured they got the point. If he only had thirty minutes, he was going to fucking cherish it. "You need to get control of yourself, Duo" he pouted as he braced his arm and sat up. His self-preservation instinct was kicking in - preparing for some serious self hard-talk. "I can't believe you were doing that. You're a horny bastard that needs to find a girl stat after you get off this goddamn island."

Twisting his fingers, Duo angrily recalled that he had been thinking of Heero while he was…so open. "He's your friend," Duo reminded himself again. "And he's a fucking asshole. He probably did that to rile you up." As the words rolled off his tongue, they became false and he knew it. Whatever Heero's motives were - they were true. There was simply no other state Heero could exist in except by his morality - his heart. _Then why is his heart targeting me?_ , Duo thought, burying his head into his knees. Was is out of his own personal lust? Had it been forever since he'd had sex as well?

 _Did he do it because he likes me?_ Duo muled over. _No. He couldn't, right?_

"It's not like I'm boyfriend material anyways. He'd be a fucking dumbass to go after me," Duo muttered under his breath. The hopeful, quiet part of his mind - normally slumbering and oblivious to Duo's suffering - awoke amid his confusion. Duo could feel it, like a long forgotten friend bringing greetings and well wishes, and Duo found himself curious enough to listen. _You deserve this_ , it said, _because YOU want this_.

 _No I don't_ , Duo contested.

 _Yes you do_ , it countered. _Because this isn't the first time you've thought about Heero like…._

"No," Duo finished sternly. His throat felt tight, like it had taken it upon itself to ache in light of nullifying the truth, but he couldn't fully accept it - not yet. Acknowledging it meant making it true, which meant everything Duo knew about himself, about his sexuality, was wrong. He could no longer practice his carefully constructed womanizing, playboy stereotype if he went home each night to be banged to sleep by his best friend.

"Just ignore what happened," Duo stated flatly. "Everyone will be better off if you do." Standing up, Duo looked out over the waves once more before making his purposefully slow return to the mansion.


End file.
